We are still in soup season. It’s raining, and it’s still cold around here. Our umbrellas are in full use, and so are our scarves. Our weekend evenings are filled with soup under blankets on the sofa. Mornings are dark, with no peeking of sunlight, and I want to sleep in more. Sometimes, the best things can happen in dark moments on a rainy day. I wake up, bake a batch of muffins, and put on a kettle of water to brew some coffee.
There are some quiet moments before the boys get down. No one to talk to, just me and my coffee with little Waffles (our puppy) by my feet. Silence sometimes is healing. Kind of a rehab. That feeling cannot be explained to the fullest. Silence is about feelings. I go out for a small walk with my large polka dot umbrella with frills, and it’s still drizzling. That moment, when there’s not a worry about anything that’s happening around.
I open the door after my walk, setting the umbrella down, I get a jump from my puppy and a hug and kiss. One by one the boys come down to hug and kiss me “Morning!”
Yes, sometimes I don’t want to think of what’s happening around.
On that note, there are many things happening right now, and there will always be. Let’s do something about it. Do what you believe in, go for it, fight for it. Speak your mind, or write what’s in your mind. We spend way too many nights thinking if everything would get alright. In the end, though, there’s nothing given up and nothing to quit as yet. In the end, love will always win.
Soups are not my thing, but this is one of my favorite soups. There are so many variations to make with this. You can add any vegetable you want, and the base for the soup can be made to your liking. It’s a hearty and a delicious soup which is great any time of the year.
This is a take on a chutney I make and the recipe was an accident, a very happy one. I love adding beets to it; not only does it add color but also lot of flavor and the slight sweetness.
Hope you get to try it out sometime.
Sending hugs!!
- 5 roma tomatoes or vine tomatoes
- 2 whole garlic
- 3 carrots
- ½ Beet
- 1 red onion
- 10 dried red chilies
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly crushed black pepper
- 2 cups low sodium or no sodium vegetable stock
- ½ cup orzo pasta(use more or less)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans or canned(rinsed and drained)
- 10-12 basil leaves
- chives, toasted pine nuts and thinly sliced jalapenos
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Cut the tomatoes in half, cut the garlic in halves, carrots and beet cut to 1 inch size, 1 inch onion. Put all this in a baking tray, add the red chilies, drizzle oil, add the salt and pepper and toss well. Bake for 30-40 minutes.
- Take it out and grind with 2 cups of vegetable stock or water. Transfer in a soup pot, add the orzo, onion and garlic powder. Let it simmer and cook for about 6-8 minutes.
- Once the pasta is cooked, add the chickpeas, tear the basil leaves and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve hot with chopped chives, jalapeno and toasted pine nuts.
